Michael Portillo leaves Europe behind to take in the sights, smells and
tastes of north Africa as he travels from the Mediterranean port of
Tangier to the Berber city of Marrakech. With his 1913 guidebook in
hand, he discovers in Tangier how this once proudly independent nation
fell under the control of the French as rival European powers scrambled
to extend their empires in Africa. At Asilah, Michael lends a hand with
the construction of Morocco's new ú3 billion high-speed railway line to
Casablanca. In Fez, he dodges the donkeys and learns how to make lamb
tagine before being scrubbed down in a traditional hammam.